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i am so ready for the 15 megabits per second (mbps) of downloading goodness that verizon's fiber to the premises (fttp) servicealso known as fioswill provide. since i first learned of and wrote about fttp, i've learned a lot more about the reality of fiber to my home. and in the spirit of good technologist citizenship, i will now share it with you. consider this part two of my quest for fiber.

first of all, here's the good news: there is no bad news about fiber to the home. there are some surprises and a few things that might make you wonder if you're ready to make the commitment, but i'm even more convinced now that i should dump cable broadband in favor of fiber.

so why haven't i done it yet? ah, well, life can be so complicated at times.

initially, my inability to score 15-mbps bliss wasn't my fault. i used the number verizon provided me on almost half a dozen snail-mail mailings, and while the verizon reps were friendly and helpful, every conversation ended the same way: "yes, you should have it in your area. i will check with the technicians at your switching station and get back to you." that second call failed to materialize each time. i then had the good fortune to meet with verizon's pr representatives at a recent pc magazine editors' day. it was an eye-opening experience, and it did help me finally get a straight answer about the availability of fiber to my home. but i'm getting ahead of myself. in that meeting and then later in a very fruitful call with a verizon sales associate, i learned some important and unexpected details about how fttp really works.

when i wrote my first article, friends of mine argued with me that the fiber would, no matter what, end at the utility pole and the last 50 to 100 feet to my house would inevitably be good-old-fashioned copper. not true. that wonderful, delicate high-speed pipe goes right to the side of your home. it also terminates in a box the likes of which i had never seen before.

one of the side effects of very new consumer technology is that things are not always as small or polished as they could be. think back to the first vcrs and you get the general idea. the fttp home termination box is the size of a small suitcase. it's actually called an optical terminal, and verizon reps promise it will get smaller in the future. for now, the size is necessary for the light to transfer from fiber to the category (cat) 5 cable that will ultimately run into your home. the system is also powered (it still needs a separate backup battery inside the home) and supports up to four separate phone lines.

unlike cable-based broadband, fttp requires no "modem." instead, a cat 5e line comes out of the termination box, which sits on the outside of your home, and goes right into your router. this router can be wired or wireless, but if it's the latter, it needs to be 802.11g. this information came courtesy of the verizon rep, who would explain only that the system is not "guaranteed" to work with 802.11b. i'm guessing verizon prefers "g" because it doesn't want to deal with customers complaining that their "superfast" fiber seems awfully slow on the 802.11b wireless network.

the most shocking thing about all the formidable hardware verizon needs to install is that it's free. they'll even throw in a wired router (they want around $65 for a wireless "g" router, which is still a pretty good deal). they're not even charging for installation. i asked the rep how long that deal would last, but she had no idea.

what verizon is willing to do to get fiber into my home is a clear sign of just how desperate the telco is to gain a foothold in the broadband market. there are other signs, too. verizon set up a verizon fios lounge experience center in a neighboring town where consumers can try surfing the web and digesting broadband media on a number of fios-enabled setups. to get people to walk in, they blanketed surrounding towns with avril lavigne concert flyers: "visit the lounge and receive free tickets to an avril lavigne concert." verizon ran similar promotions with the back street boys. obviously, verizon executives believe, and i tend to agree, that those who experience 15-mbps speeds (or higher) for themselves will be begging to be among the first to run fios in their homes.

yet, even as verizon pulls out all the stops in its fios campaign, it's still hedging its bets.

squeezed in among the nonstop flow of fios pitches arriving on my doorstep was a flyer for $19.95 dsl. sure, it's an introductory offer, but it still beats cable's introductory pricing by about ten bucks a month. i guess this is understandable. dsl and cable have populated the broadband competitive landscape for so long that verizon cannot afford just to walk away. people are still choosing between the two, and most have no idea what fiber is. even so, i think it's a mistake to cut dsl rates when verizon still needs to educate consumers on and make a case for fttp. the only good news is that more and more people are learning from other consumers that the dsl experience still doesn't match up to cable. so they'll wait for a better service before jumping ship solely for a cheaper temporary service.

fttp is not cheaper than cable or dsl. i've said previously that i think this is a mistake. what's worse is that i'll probably have to pay $5 to $10 more a month for the 15 mbps i want (i could opt for 5-mbps download speeds and pay the same as i do for cable broadband, but why would i?). i'll pay the $49.95 a month ($44.95 if i also use verizon's phone services) for this new speed experience.continue reading...

About the Author

A 25-year industry veteran and award-winning journalist, Lance Ulanoff is the former Editor in Chief of PCMag.com.
Lance Ulanoff has covered technology since PCs were the size of suitcases, "on line" meant "waiting" and CPU speeds were measured in single-digit megahertz. He's traveled the globe to report on a vast array of consumer and business... See Full Bio

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